An Unusual Guide
by The Lost Son of Gaia
Summary: What happens when a guy playing Elsword doesn't pay attention to which quests he accepts and which rewards are involved? He gets sucked into Elrios and is forced to assist the Elgang in their quest to retrieve the El, armed only with the knowledge he acquired through hours of gaming. And maybe a stick.
1. Prologue: Just a Game

Hello! Lost here, with what I hope will become an awesome new story for you to enjoy. No promises, though. We'll see what happens. Anyway, hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Elsword, its characters, storyline, gameplay mechanics, art, music, or anything actually. But damn I'd love to.

Now let's begin.

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Chapter 0: Just A Game

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Hours upon hours of dedication. Of endless grinding, questing and more grinding. Of careful planning and preparation. Of silly events, and others far more serious. Of raging at the in-game economy, ice burners, secret dungeons, raid bosses, the ridiculous EXP chart in the NA server, and many other things. All, in preparation for this very moment.

Level cap.

I have seen many announcements about someone reaching the level cap each day, hoping that one day the name of one of my characters would be there. And the time had come.

My main character was an Ara -I've always had a soft spot for clumsy martial artists for some reason- who I nurtured from a small and frail Little Xia to a highly powerful Sakra Devanam. And now, it was time to reach the top of the ladder for the very first time.

The EXP bar slowly filled with yellow, and it's percentage increased slowly, but steadily.

98%

98.5%

99%

99.9%

And suddenly, a completed quest I didn't even know I had taken popped up.

Nothing particularly interesting. Finishing a couple of dungeons of a suitable level, in order to get a bunch of EXP and a "Cobo Mysterious Express VIP Ticket" to Ruben. I didn't even know that existed, and I had no idea of what use it could have, but the quest still gave EXP. So I clicked the "Complete Quest" button anyway.

To this day, I still have no idea of what happened. All I know is that I was staring at my screen, then a white flash and everything went black.

* * *

Upon waking, I was greeted by the sun rays filtering through the leaves of a majestic tree. The grass beneath me was soft and warm, and I could hear water from a nearby river running freely.

And it didn't make any sense at all, since my living room never had any grass, or leaves, or a river.

But I was no longer in my living room.

It did not take me too long to figure out where I was, mainly since that tree seemed to be oddly familiar. I inspected it for quite a while, until I noticed a faint glow coming out of it. Or rather, out of something near it.

A bright blue stone emitting a warm gleam caught my attention immediately. And then, it hit me.

This was the El. Located within the Tree of El. Near the peaceful village of Ruben. In the land of Elrios.

I somehow ended up in Elrios.

* * *

Well, that's it for the prologue! It may be a bit short, but the truth is I have a lot planned for this. You'll see it when the right time comes, though. Anyway, feel free to leave a review if you want. Feedback is highly appreciated, and always welcome. Well, see you next time!


	2. Chapter 1: Welcome to Ruben

**Hello again! Welcome to the first chapter of the story! Now's where the plot begins to unravel. Well, not really... anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Now let's begin!  
**

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Chapter 1: Welcome to Ruben

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"...don't know. I just found him unconscious near the Tree of El, so I brought him over."

"How long has he been unconscious?"

"I brought him in a couple of hours ago. Before that, I'm not sure."

The sound of people talking slowly awoke me once more. I found myself resting in a really comfortable bed, in a neatly furnished room. For some reason there was pink all over the place, which was a bit off-putting for me, but the room itself felt warm and welcoming.

After stretching for a bit -like I usually do after a nap, or... all the time, actually- and smacking myself for passing out again at the Tree of El, I began thinking who or what could have caused this ridiculous event. My first suspect was, of course, the "Cobo Mysterious Express VIP Ticket", but I couldn't just blame the ticket for everything. That's when I realized that I hadn't even paid attention to who had given me the quest. The word "Cobo", however, clearly pointed towards the Cobo Service and, particularly, the one girl in charge of representing Cobo in almost every single town in the game. If I wanted answers, I'd have to go to speak with Ariel.

"Oh! You're awake!"

A female voice brought me back to my senses. A young woman, with short pink hair and a tiny mole under her right eye, smiled at me from the doorway. Behind her was a brown-haired man with a very thick beard, who was staring at me with a mix of astonishment and curiosity. I could recognize them easily. They were Ann and Hagus, the shop owner and village chief of Ruben, respectively.

"How are you feeling?" Ann asked, smiling kindly to me as she sat on the bed. "Not bad, I hope..."

"I'm okay, thanks," I replied, stretching my arms a bit more. "Just a bit lost, that's all."

"You're not from around here, are you?" Hagus asked, "I certainly don't recall seeing you in this village before."

"That's correct," I nodded, "It's the first time I visit this place."

"In that case, I welcome you to the town of Ruben, young man. I'm the village chief, Hagus," Hagus announced with a grin, and then pointed towards Ann, "The woman next to you is Ann."

"Nice to meet you... uhm..."

The good thing about a strange new world where no one knows you is that you can be whoever you want. Your name can be Jack Powers, John Doe, Volaverunt, Cthulhu, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, or whatever you can come up with. Or take from somewhere else. So it should come to no surprise that I...

"...Lucas. Name's Lucas. Nice to meet you both."

...used the exact same name I had all my life.

"Lucas... quite an interesting name," Hagus noted, thinking for a couple of seconds before turning towards Ann. "Well, if either of you happen to need anything, please let me know."

"I will, Hagus," Ann replied with a smile, "Thanks for the visit."

With that said, the village chief left the room, and I found myself alone with Ann, in a place that was now clearly her room. Most people would have found it awkward, or would have gotten nervous. Not me, though. I was far too relaxed to even think about that. I did feel a little guilty for taking a nap on her bed, though. Only a little.

"So where are you from?" the young woman asked, looking at me with her light blue eyes, clearly curious about me. "And what brought to our little village?"

Now, this was a delicate question. Several movies, series, games and other kinds of media in which transdimensional travel was a topic taught me throughout the years that, no matter how carefully or how many times you explain it, only about 5% of the people will rationally believe you if you tell them you are from another universe, world, dimension or the like. The other 95% will think you are crazy and/or freak out immediately. So, in order to avoid such an outcome, I clearly couldn't just tell her that my computer teleported me into a game. Which meant I had to make up a story. Something that people could believe blindly.

"Well... I actually lived in a small island to the north," I began, "But a fire broke out a few weeks ago. Burnt down the entire island, including my home."

"Oh, poor man..." Ann exclaimed, "It must be awful not having a home..."

"It's not really that bad," I explained, continuing my castle-sized white lie. "It gave me the courage to do something I'd always wanted. Without a home to look after, or anything to hold me down, I get to travel whenever I please... as long as I have enough money and food."

"Oh, that's good!" Ann replied with a smile, "Well, if you need a place to live in for the time being, I'm sure someone will be most glad to let you stay. Oh! Maybe Adams has a spare room! Why don't you ask him?"

Adams. Ruben's former alchemist before he was removed. At some point he went all the way from "Alchemist NPC" to "that one guy crying in the background", and was pretty much forgotten by almost everyone.

"I'll be sure to ask him. Thanks for all the help."

"Not at all!"

* * *

After about an hour and a small meal, I said goodbye to Ann, and decided to head over to Adams' house... wherever it was. However, during my search, a strange duo caught my attention.

One of them, which I recognized as Lowe, was rather tall, with short gray hair and a stern expression. He was running backwards, yelling at the other that he should "put some effort into it", and calling him "rookie" quite often. The other, far shorter, had crimson red hair that looked like a can of hair spray had exploded right on his face, and was carrying a huge backpack with a really strong air of determination.

In a matter of seconds, the drillmaster and his 13-year-old recruit made a small turn and got out of my line of sight. So I simply stood still for a few seconds, with my eyes wide open, until my brain began working properly again.

But even though as I finally located Adams' house and knocked on the door, I couldn't help but think about how strong Elsword was, even though he was merely a kid.

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**Well, that's it for today. Didn't really know how to end this chapter, so... there. I promise the plot begins in the next one.  
Either way, thanks for reading so far! Feel free to leave feedback if you want to, and I hope to see you again soon! Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 2: The El Search Party Plus 1

**Hello again, and welcome to Chapter 2! I'm terribly sorry for the long wait, but what can I say? Life happens. Anyway, this is the moment where the Elgang's story truly begins. Once again, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writting it. Now, let us begin.**

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Chapter 2: The El Search Party... Plus 1  


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Over the next few days, I stayed over at Adams' house. He had little objection to me staying at his place, as long as I helped around the house. I also began assisting Ann at her shop as a part time job, mostly because A) I didn't have my wallet with me, and B) my wallet wouldn't have helped anyway, since the currencies were completely different. So I was completely and utterly broke, in a strange new land, and suffering from the disadvantages of having to adapt to a world that had no shiny screens, gas-fueled vehicles, or chess. A world where most of the work was physical and made with plenty of effort. And I had always been more of an intelectual myself. Not really good at sports or hard work, not a big eater, and certainly not a fighter. So I had to make do with the skills I had. Luckily, I was good at numbers, so Ann was glad to hire me for the time being, until I had enough money to start my quest for the elusive Cobo Service representatives.

Those days were pretty uneventful. Waking up, having breakfast, helping at Adams', lunch time, helping at the store, then some time to just roam Ruben, talk to people, sometimes catch a glimpse of Elsword's daily training regime, and finishing the day with a nice dinner and a shower before heading back to bed. There wasn't much going on, as one would expect from such a small hamlet.

I still can't believe I didn't see it all coming, though.

* * *

"Thank you! Come back soon!" I heard Ann chime cheerfully from the counter, shortly after which her head popped up from behind the doorframe, sporting a grin so large it almost went from ear to ear. "Another successful sale to end the day!"

"Good! Congratulations!" I cheered in reply, giving her a thumbs up. "We're got a lot of customers today."

"If this keeps up I'll soon have enough money to get a separate building for my shop!"

"I think your house is alright, but okay," I noted, "Anyway, what did you sell? I need to add it to the list."

"Well, Elsword came in today, and bought a lot of equipment," Ann explained. "An entire set to be exact. He said he needed to get fully prepared for a mission."

"A mission, huh... well, he does train a lot, so I'm not surprised he has one by now," I noted, adding the set to the list of sold goods. "Well, that should be it. Do you need me to do anything else?"

"No, that's alright," the woman replied with a smile. "Feel free to leave if you want."

"Alright, I'll be on my way, then," I replied, but before I left, I decided to make one last comment. "Oh, by the way, Ann..."

"Yes?"

"Your mole is getting blurry."

I still remember the expression in her face when I told her that. Her eyes widened so much I was afraid they would come out of their sockets. After she darted out, presumably to the bathroom, I decided it was time for me to leave before she noticed I had tricked her. I knew for a fact that the mole under her eye was actually fake, so I allowed myself to have a little fun at her expense. I had to remember to apologize the following day, though. In part because it was the right thing to do, in part to avoid a pay reduction.

Soon I found myself strolling through Ruben like I did every late afternoon. It had been a bit of a hot day, but there was a cool breeze outside, which made my walk far more pleasant. Now that I think about it, I never saw anything even remotely close to rain in that place. Not even once. It was almost like a perpetual spring, with the warmth and the colorful landscapes that come with it.

I must have walked a lot, because I recall that the sun was already setting by the time I decided to finish my stroll, and the clear day was slowly giving way to the night. I still managed to get back to Adams' house before it got dark, though, and so, after a nice shower and a good dinner, I headed to bed, thinking that soon I would have enough money to get by in Elder for a couple of days.

* * *

It took a while, but the noise outside finally woke me up late in the morning. I could barely hear pieces of a conversation, which I barely paid attention to anyway.

"...do something about it..."

"...must warn everyone..."

At that point it didn't make much sense to me, so I ignored most of it and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day. However, my curiosity got the best of me, and the first thing I did upon leaving the house was to ask what was going on.

"Oh, good morning Lucas," Hagus greeted me, although I could see that he was troubled. "We have word from Lowe that a dangerous group of bandits has arrived to Ruben, so we are debating possible courses of action. The current plan is that we will warn the villagers about them while Lowe tries to find out what they are up to. After that, we will try to drive them away."

"Sounds okay, I guess," I commented, although I wasn't sure of how they were going to actually drive them off. "Does this happen often?"

"Not particularly often, but it has happened a few times before."

That wasn't particularly surprising, given that there was no such thing as a police force in all of Elrios. The closest thing available in Ruben was Lowe and his trainees, and most of them were on missions or busy, well, training.

"Do not worry about it, Lucas," the village chief reassured. "We will handle this properly."

Around fifteen minutes later, the El was stolen from the Tree of El.

* * *

It was really hard to keep track of the bandits. Lowe probably thought that, since I was "quite clever", I'd be able to help with that, so he "borrowed" me from Ann and took me for a long and boring walk around. The disappointed look in his face was evident when he found out I was as good at tracking down people as I was at lifting boulders with my eyelids.

"I told you I wasn't good at this, Lowe..." I noted. "I'm an indoor person. I know as much of this as you know of knitting."

"I can tell," Lowe shook his head and let out a sigh. "Guess that's it. We lost track of Banthus, so we might as well head back."

"...Banthus?"

The next few seconds Lowe tried to explain how renowned and dangerous Banthus was, or something like that. Truth is my mind was quite busy at that moment, first starting to finally connect the dots regarding the actual events that were taking place. And then, resisting the sudden urge to punch Lowe in the face for not even bothering to tell me the name of the bandit in the first place.

"Where is Elsword now?"

"The rookie? I think Hagus sent him to the forest ruins to deal with another group of bandits."

I didn't need to think much to figure out that Elsword (and most likely Aisha and Rena as well by that point) had been sent after William and the phorus. I also realized almost immediately where Banthus could be.

"Quick, Lowe," I called in a serious tone. "Where's the closest misty swamp?"

"The what?" Lowe asked, staring at me like I had gone insane for several seconds. "You mean the White Mist Swamp, right? It's to the north, not far from here."

"Cool. Take me there."

It took us a good twenty minutes to reach the swamp, but in the end we found Banthus and his bandits nearby. Lowe probably could've handled the bandits easily by himself (I was _not _going to fight a bunch of bandits), but while he was getting ready to attack...

_"Grrrrr..."_

We suddenly found ourselves facing a huge white creature growling at us. By that point, I knew all too well that we were in front of an ancient phoru, but for some reason Lowe still felt the need to point it out.

"That's one big phoru..." he whispered, slowly starting to back away. "Don't make any noise... and slowly back aw-"

By that time I could no longer hear what he was saying because I was already too far away, running back towards Ruben as fast as I could.

* * *

"...but we had to retreat because of a giant phoru," Lowe explained as Ann finished treating his wounds. Just a few cuts and scrapes, nothing serious. His glare, however, was more than enough to tell me he didn't like being abandoned like that with the phoru. "Lucas is surprisingly quick while he's running away."

"Well, I do have long legs," I retorted. "Might as well use them to make sure everything remains attached to my torso."

"Wait," Ann looked a bit confused from what Lowe had just said. "How did you know where to find Banthus?"

Crap. That was a tricky question. Obviously I couldn't tell them that I was some dimensional-travelling stranger and that I knew where Banthus was because all of this happened in a game I played. But I couldn't say something stupid like "lucky guess" unless I wanted people thinking I might actually be a bandit myself.

"I'm not really sure," I replied, scratching my head. "It was kind of like a déjà vu. As if this had happened before..."

"A déjà vu..." Aisha muttered, deep in though. "That's rather odd..."

"Leaving that aside," Elsword began, "You're telling me you lost them?"

"Quiet! We... I mean _I_ did _my_ best. But we'll have to do something abo-"

"Let me stop you right there," I interrupted, rising my hand. "I don't think Ann is going to approve of anyone hurting the phoru."

"Well... that's true," Ann admitted. "The phoru is a good creature, and it has been protecting our forest since ancient times. It's the bandits who should be punished!"

"...very well," Lowe nodded, letting out a long sigh. "Then we will have to find a way to keep the phoru out of the way without harming it. I'll leave it up to you four."

"Yes, sir!" Elsword shouted, with salute and all.

"Leave it to us!" Aisha grinned. "Nothing that an expert mage like myself can't handle!"

"We'll handle the phoru with care." Rena stated.

I, however, had something completely different in mind. And it probably was obvious, judging from what I said right afterwards.

"...four?"

* * *

**Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the absurdly long delay. I hope it doesn't happen again. But it probably will. Either way, I hope you liked it, and I'll see you next time!**


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